1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a function operation technique for a television signal reception apparatus, and in particular to a function operation technique for a television signal reception apparatus having various functions.
2. Related Background Art
Recently, a broadcast satellite, or communication satellite, system has been put into service that transmits digital television broadcast signals to individual homes. Since this system is capable of providing 100 or more channels, an extensive selection of different types of programs can be provided. Thus, since with this system so many transmittable programs are available, an electric program guide (EPG), which can facilitate the selection of desired programs, is transmitted with other video data and can be displayed on monitoring devices, thereby permitting viewers, by referring to the EPG, to select desired programs.
Because of the development of infra, such as the Internet, the need has gradually increased for a network function that will simplify, for home use, the browsing of the WWW (World Wide Web) and the transmission and reception of e-mail. Further, there is also an increased need for a multimedia function for the display of images obtained using a digital camera. In this respect, a proposal has been made that would facilitate the display on multiple screens of multiple programs and video obtained using an AV machine. For such a television, a demand is also increased that a user be able to select a picture by manipulating a button on a remote controller, or to control a connected apparatus at a remote area.
On the contrary, there are not a few users who do not like to have many remote control buttons on a high-performance television, and there has been an increased demand that means for controlling the multimedia function and the network function be provided without unnecessary increase of the number of operating buttons.
In order to satisfy these needs, improved GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) have been proposed for television signal reception apparatuses. For example, according to a proposal in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Ser. No. 11-150692, a hierarchical menu structure is displayed in two dimensions, thereby enabling users to see and easily understand the complicated hierarchical structure that is used for the menu.
However, according to the technique proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 11-150692, an electric program guide is provided for which only a comparatively small amount of labor is required to make a category change. But with this arrangement, each time a user desires to employ a function or an application in a completely different category, a menu key, or a key corresponding thereto, must be depressed to move the menu item display through several ranks of the hierarchical structure to change to the screen that displays the desired function. And while understanding the use of this method is easy, especially when the user is one who is not very familiar with the operation of an apparatus, its use soon becomes tediously irksome, since whenever it is actually employed the user must move the cursor hither and thither while concentrating on watching the displayed menu.
Assume, for example, that a user viewing a desired television program was employing an application to browse an image obtained with a digital camera when the program started. Assume further that the user will continue the image browsing during commercial breaks. For this operation, the user, to return each time to the application, must use menu keys to sequentially select functions. To accomplish this there is proposal that provides a “quick jump” key on a remote controller to move to a predetermined function by depressing one key. In many cases, however, to use this key it must be set in advance, and further, this proposal will not be very effective for a television reception apparatus for which the number of functions are expected to be increased.
Further, an additional proposal is conventionally provided for reducing the operating labor required of a user by automatically changing a screen in consonance with an occurring event. In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-83191, for example, a digital image editing apparatus is disclosed that detects the loading of a memory card and automatically displays an image on a television screen. This proposal is convenient for a single-function apparatus, such as a digital image editing apparatus, because an image can be easily displayed. However, when the same function is provided for a television reception apparatus having multiple functions, it can interfere with the viewing of a program, and an advanced technique is required.